Legens 101

A Legens is the wizarding equivalent of an online journal. The two function similarly in most ways, though not exactly the same. The largest difference is an online journal is entirely electronic and is updated by typing on a keyboard and pressing an update button with a mouse. A Legens, however, is a bound book of parchment pages that must be (physically) written in with a quill and ink and updated using a wand.

When one first purchases a Legens, the Legens has to be calibrated to recognize the owner's handwriting. This is accomplished by writing the full alphabet (capitals and lowercase), and numbers on the inner cover and then tapping the cover with one's wand. Because of this calibration step, rumors abound that a used Legens may not be as secure as a new Legens, but those rumors are exaggerated.

Updating a Legens requires a wand, so a Muggle or Squib cannot use them, and incidentally, one has to be magical to read a Legens, as well. If Mr. Filch confiscates a student's Legens, the book would appear entirely blank to him. That wouldn't stop him from confiscating the book, though, because he confiscated the entirely blank (to him) Marauder's Map, too. Those are the major differences. Now, on to some minor points.

1. Updating a Legens:
   
   To update a Legens, a character would write some things down, decide on the security level of each section (more on this later), and trace around the writing for each section, while concentrating on the security level for each section. Then, when the security was set, s/he would tap the page with his/her wand, and the message(s) would then become visible to whomever the author wished to see them.
   
   For example, let's say that McGonagall has three sections in a Legens entry: one public, one private, and one only visible to the Gryffindors students currently at Hogwarts (not Hogwarts alumni). In order to set the security level for the public and current-Gryffindors-only sections, she would trace each with her wand while thinking about whom she wished to view them (anybody for the public section and current Gryffindors for the other section).
   
   Note that McGonagall would have to do nothing for the private section to remain private, although there are some hexes one can use for extra security, and it is still possible to mess this up (if one isn't careful with which sections one traces). Once the security levels are all properly set, she would then tap the page with her wand, and the Legens would be "updated" (i.e., the messages would appear).



2. Reading a Legens:
   
   What your character has written in his/her own Legens will appear to him or her just as written. In other words, Dumbledore will see his entries in his own handwriting, McGonagall will see hers in her own handwriting, etc.
   
   Other people's entries, however, will appear as typed writing with a picture of the "poster" appearing next to the entry and/or the comment (rather like an online journal, funnily enough). For example, if Dumbledore posts the following:
   
   
   
   this is what others (of the proper security level) would see:
   
   

   Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

   
   There are a couple of small exceptions to this rule. If a character underlines a word or phrase in his or her Legens, other characters will see that text as italicized. If a character writes a word with a large amount of pressure (or writes it repeatedly on the same spot on the page), the word will appear bolded to others. For example, if McGonagall writes the following in her Legens:
   
   
   
   This is what others (of the proper security) will see:
   
   

   I cannot believe Albus is going to hire that charlatan! The very idea is ridiculous!

   
   That, however, is just for messages the Legens magic can clearly recognize as "handwriting." Things other than easily recognizable handwriting (such as pictures or messy handwriting) can muddy the waters a bit, as outlined below:
   
   
   1. Graphics -- If your character wishes to "post" a picture or drawing in his/her Legens, the procedure is very similar to posting a message (as in "Updating a Legens" in part I above). S/He would draw the picture or paste in the photograph, trace the image with his/her wand to set the security level, and tap the page. Then the picture or drawing would "appear" to anyone the author wished to see it.
   
   
   For example, if James drew this in his Legens:
   
   
   
   this is what others (of the proper security level) would see:
   
   
   
   
   2. Messy or Smudged Handwriting -- If your character has exceptionally bad handwriting, or is upset while making an entry and cries on the page, making the ink run (like Hagrid's letters relating to Buckbeak's execution), their Legens may misinterpret the writing and transmit the image exactly, as if it were a picture instead of a written message. In the McGonagall example from above, for instance, suppose the ink happened to smudge when she was writing "believe." (1) When she updated her Legens, this is what others (of the proper security level) would see:
   
   
   
   
   
   3. Strikeouts -- If your character writes something but then changes his/her mind prior to "posting" the message, s/he can always put a line through the text to indicate to the Legens that the crossed out part of the message should not be transmitted. Unlike with a letter or note, no part of the crossed out message will be transmitted, so the readers will not be able to piece together any sort of clues as to what the author intended to say from the omitted sections. (2)
      
      For example, if Snape were to write the following in his Legens:
      
      
      
      this is what others (of the proper security level) would see:
      
      

      September cannot come soon enough to suit me.

   
   
3. Security Levels for Posts:
   
   Security in a Legens post functions similarly to friends filter, except these security levels are accomplished by charms, rather than logging in via a password. (One cannot log in or log out of a Legens, after all, since it is essentially a book, albeit a magical one.) Therefore, the security charms will work the same, no matter whose Legens one happens to be viewing at the time. The main difference between security charms and friends filters, however, is that different sections of the same Legens entry can have different security levels. (3)
   
   
   1. If McGonagall were to peek at Dumbledore's Legens, she will only be able to see the entries she was able to see before (although Dumbledore's entries will be in his handwriting). For example, if Dumbledore had posted the following:
      
      [Private to Minerva]
      
      
      
      [/Private to Minerva]
      
      [Private]
      
      
      
      [/Private]
      
      McGonagall would only see the following:
      
      
   
   
   
   2. Likewise, if Dumbledore were to sneak a look into McGonagall's Legens, he would only be able to see the entries he was previously cleared to see (although he will see McGonagall's entries in her handwriting). For example, if McGonagall had posted the following:
      
      [Private to Albus]
      
      
      
      [/Private to Albus]
      
      [Private]
      
      
      
      [/Private]
      
      Dumbledore would only see the following:
      
      
   
   
   
   3. On the other hand, if Snape were to pick up either Dumbledore's Legens or McGonagall's Legens, he would see none of the messages in parts 1 or 2 (above). All Snape would see is a blank page.
   
   
4. Security Levels for Comments:
   
   Security for comments are also accomplished by means of the same security charms as for posts, and the charms are still similar in function to a friends filter, even though filters only work on posts in electronic journals. Appearance-wise, however, the behavior of security charms is more closely related to that of screened comments.
   
   
   1. If Sirius, Peter, and Remus have the following exchange in James' Legens:
      
      [Private to Marauders]
      
      

      Who's up for marauding this full moon?

      
      [/Private to Marauders]
      
      [Private to Marauders]
      
      

      I am!

      
      [/Private to Marauders]
      
      [Private to Marauders]
      
      

      I don't have much choice in this, do I?

      
      [/Private to Marauders]
      
      James will see the following:
      
      

      Who's up for marauding this full moon?

      
      

      I am!

      
      

      I don't have much choice in this, do I?

   
   
   2. If Peter decides to rat the other Marauders out to Snape to get them in trouble and tries to charm the comments so that Snape can see them, he will be sorely disappointed. (4) Snape will only be able to see Peter's comment, with blank spaces where Sirius and Remus' comments would have been [without the "(Screened Post)" message], like this:
      
      
      

      I am!

      
      
   
   
5. Anonymous "Security":
   
   Since there is also an anonymous journal in the game, anonymous security must also be addressed. If a character is a skilled enough witch or wizard, he or she can charm entries to appear anonymous (i.e., the player may post with the anonymous journal). A few things should be noted about anonymous posting:
   
   
   1. Regardless of whether the sender's identity is obscured, the original anonymous post will still appear in the author's Legens. The author may be clever enough to make the entry appear in the block writing that heralds another person's post, but a Specialis Revelio spell will make the entry revert to the sender's real handwriting (and is proof of the anonymous sender's true identity).
   
   
   
   2. Under normal circumstances, one cannot charm one's entries to appear as if they are from somebody else. There are only two feasible ways to post a Legens entry using somebody else's identity:
   
   
   1. One must steal the other person's Legens. The thief must remember to re-calibrate the Legens to his or her own handwriting, however, or s/he must be able to imitate the owner's handwriting well enough to fool the Legens (which is no easy feat). Otherwise, the message will be transmitted exactly as written, as a "drawing," rather than in block print.
   
   
   2. One must use Dark magic (usually the Imperius Curse) in order to induce the victim to post a forged entry.
   
   
6. Notes:



1. The screen caps here are simply to illustrate the effect messy or smudged writing might have on a Legens. Making screen caps yourself to show how your character's comments come across is not required. During game play, the information conveyed by the above screen cap may be accomplished by appending an out-of-character message to the character's comment, like so:
   
   

   I cannot believe Albus is going to hire that charlatan! The very idea is ridiculous!
   
   [OOC: The ink smudged when she wrote "believe," so that word shows in McG's handwriting.]

   If you want to make a screen cap, however (especially if what shows in the character's handwriting is difficult to explain), you are more than welcome to do that. (back)



2. One straight line drawn through the unwanted sections, preferably with a straight-edge, is safest. Creative cross-outs can lead to the Legens interpreting the sections as an image and transmitting them exactly as written, which rather defeats the purpose of crossing them out in the first place. This is the only instance in which a player may piece together clues from a crossed out section (and the mods will require that the reader obtain the author's permission ahead of time). The same does not hold for crossed out sections in notes or letters, which may be interpreted and used for clues, at will. After all, in the case of a note or letter, the reader physically has the original piece of writing in his/her hands. (back)



3. If your character has sections of the same post with differing security levels, bracketing off each section with the individual security level applicable to that section is advisable. Otherwise, it is far too easy for other players to confuse in character knowledge with out of character knowledge. (back)



4. This may seem similar to adding a friend to a filter, except it only works for the post in question. In other words, Snape will not be able to see other posts that are charmed private to the Marauders, or Peter's comments in such posts. It would be more accurate to say that Snape is added to a separate Snape filter, and then the first post is changed to be viewable to the Marauders filter plus the Snape filter. Except Peter's Snape filter only affects Peter's charms, Peter's posts, and Peter's comments. Sirius and Remus' contributions to the conversation remain unaffected (i.e., invisible to Snape). (back)